Japanese PM wants to attend nuclear summit in Seoul

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has expressed interest in attending this month's nuclear summit in Seoul to tell the world the lessons his country learned during the nuclear disaster of 2011. Japan's northeastern areas were devastated by last March's giant earthquake and tsunami that also crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant, releasing radioactive materials, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported. The accident, classified as the worst nuclear calamity since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, has prompted countries with nuclear power plants to review the safety of atomic energy. One of the key agenda items at the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul from March 26 through 27 includes how to ensure the safety of atomic energy. Noda said in a news conference on Saturday that he has many things to say about Japan's "lesson" and its self-examination on its nuclear disaster in the upcoming nuclear summit. Still, Noda has indicated he may not be able to attend due to conflicting schedules in parliament. The two-day session is scheduled to bring together top leaders from about 50 nations, including U.S. President Barack Obama, who hosted the first summit in Washington in 2010. Noda said Japan will inject more than 1 trillion yen (US$12.2 billion) in removing radioactive contamination as he emphasized most of the affected areas returned to business as usual except some restricted areas near the crippled nuclear plant.